The Undeniables
1.
Anthony Minichiello
2.
Michael Hancock
3.
Michael O'Connor
4.
Matt Cooper
5.
Alex Johnston
6.
Terry Lamb
7.
Brett Kimmorley
8.
Rodney Howe
9.
Steve Walters
10.
Ben Hannant
11.
Luke Lewis
12.
Viliame Kikau
13.
Jeremey Smith
14.
Dylan Walker
15.
Dene Halatau
16.
Tony Williams
17.
Anthony Laffranchi
Coach:
Andrew Webster
The Spine
Boxhead, Noddy, Baa and The Count - One of the top two, if not the best, spine in this competition. ‘Boxhead’ at hooker is arguably the 2nd best hooker of all time and the prototype of the modern number 9. He was a key member of the great Raiders side of the late 80’s and early 90’s. ‘Noddy’ at halfback is one of the top 5 number 7’s of the NRL era and this Clive Churchill medal winner led The Storm to its maiden Premiership title in just its second year of existence. In his prime he was so good he kept Andrew Johns on the bench for NSW and is the perfect halves partner for ‘Baa’. Six Dally M Five-Eighth of the year awards in an 11-year period up against players like Wally Lewis and Brett Kenny tells you all you need to know. The greatest support player the game has produced scored an incredible 164 trys. And at the back, the custodian, Golden Boot winner, The Count. There is only one ha-ha-ha, maybe two ha-ha-ha fullbacks in recent times that have been better than him in my opinion. These four champion players have a combined 1230 games of NRL experience and 8 Grand Final wins between them. I’ve convinced myself and you should be too, the best Spine in this competition.
The Outside Backs
Snoz, AJ, Coop and Mick – Well balanced, pace, power, try scorers and defensively strong. Snoz is one of the most gifted centres I have seen play, with his pace, swerve, amazing step and the chip kick as well. He was so good that in one of the origin series deciders, the 'great' Mal Meninga knew he couldn’t outplay O’Connor and his only hope to have a chance against him was to drop his forearm illegally while Snoz was defenceless on the ground and break his nose. Partnering him on the left edge is AJ, 173 trys in 203 games is a phenomenal strike rate and record. He is Souths all-time leading try scorer and not far off the NRL one. A genuine finisher, good under the high ball, strong defender and no doubt will reap the benefits of playing alongside O’Connor. On the right edge, in the centres is Mr Cool, Matt ‘Coop’ Cooper. Calm and collected, one of the best defensive centres in the game yet has the pace, footwork, hard running and his 124 NRL trys show he has try scoring ability to match with the best of them. To compliment Mr Cool we have Mr Angry, Michael ‘Mick’ Hancock. Possibly the angriest man ever to play league but his record speaks for itself and is one of the foundation members of the Broncos. Between these four players combined they have scored 504 NRL trys and won 8 Grand Finals. No one can contain them!
The Pack
Stan, The Polar Bear, Bill, Cool Hand and Jeremy Smith – Metre eaters, size, power, stamina, toughness. Rodney Howe, a forward leader, grand final winner and definitely not the weakest link after winning the sports edition of the game show with one of the highest scores ever achieved. His propping partner is The Polar Bear, Ben Hannant. Multiple Grand Final winner with different clubs, part of the all-conquering Queensland S.O.O. side, Test matches, he has done and won it. In the second row is the powerful Villiame ‘Bill’ Kikau. A nightmare for edge defenders and will play on the left edge for me with O’Connor and Johnston. A key member of Penrith’s three consecutive Grand Finals he is a constant threat with ball in hand, as a decoy runner or hitting hard in defence. On the other side we have Cool Hand Luke Lewis. Versatile and skilful, he has previously played wing, centre, 5/8, second row and lock. Defensively strong, with good hands and powerful hole runner he will form an incredibly strong edge with Coop and Mick. Locking down the pack is Jeremy Smith. So tough that everyone just calls him by his name because they are too scared to try and make something up. He was head hunted by Wayne Bennett to come to the Dragons and this quote from Hugh McGahan in 2011 sums it up nicely: "Jeremy doesn't go backwards. Either on attack or defence, he is never seen to be going backwards - he is always dominant. He doesn't always get the accolades but he is one of the most successful Kiwis ever to play in the NRL." This experienced and effective pack has a combined 1066 games, 212 trys and 9 Grand Final wins.
The Bench
Dene, Dyl, T-Rex and Boof – Utility, versatility, speed, toughness, power. Dene is the more decorated version of
Jazz Tevaga for the Undeniables squad. He can cover centre, hooker, second row and lock. He brings energy, toughness and an outstanding work ethic to go with his versatility. Dyl forms a powerful 1 – 2 combination off the bench with Dene. He brings all the attributes that Dene does but with more ball playing ability. With Webster coaching the team and the speed of the modern game you can expect to see an up tempo, high intensity game that will be too much for the other teams to stay with, particularly when these two come on. The third bench player is the mighty T-Rex. Powerful and dynamic, at his best he was unstoppable and will be a nightmare against tiring defences late in the half. And finally, but not least, Boof Laffranchi. A skilful prop or second rower with a knack of scoring trys. Defensively strong, he is often close to leading the tackle counts even when coming off the bench. Combined, the bench provides 820 games of experience, 191 trys and 4 Grand final wins
The Undeniables
So, there you have it ladies and gentleman. The Undeniables.
- 4029 games of NRL experience
- 30 Grand final wins
- 1341 trys scored
- The best Spine in the competition
- The only Squad in the competition where every single player in the 17 has tasted Grand Final success
- Combined, the backline (1-7) has 1872 games of experience and 889 trys – the best attack in the competition by some margin
- FFS we have a T-Rex on the bench! No one else has an Apex Predator on the bench that can match The Undeniables
undeniable
adj.
1. unable to be denied or disputed; incontestable.
2. unquestioned as to quality or merit; indisputably good
